


Remember When?

by vanjie_love



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian AU, Memory Loss, Wives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:48:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23157328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanjie_love/pseuds/vanjie_love
Summary: An accident causes Vanessa to lose her memory. Is it temporary? Is it permanent? Brooke doesnt know, but she's determined to help her remember.
Relationships: Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
Comments: 16
Kudos: 41





	1. One

"Babe, we gotta get going. The roads are shit and it's going to take longer for us to get there."

"Can't we just cancel? We ain't gotta be there."

"I already told my parents we would be. We will be fine as long as we take our time." Brooke got up from her spot in front of her vanity and pushed her chair in, "are you ready?"

Vanessa nods, stands, and grabs her purse off the bed, "let's go blondie."

Vanessa put Riley in his crate while Brooke made sure the spare room was open for the cats. 

"You wanna drive, Ness?"

"Nah, you got it, you know I get nervous."

Brooke nodded and opened the passenger side for Vanessa and shut the door. 

"Hurry up, bitch, it's fuckin cold!" Vanessa squealed, the cold leather of the seat shocking to her bare legs. 

"You're the one who wore a dress." Brooke smirked, getting in the driver's side and turning the car on. 

Vanessa immediately turned the seat warmer on high, sighing as it instantly started to warm up. 

"Because I wanted to look pretty." Vanessa pouts, and Brooke thinks it's the cutest thing. 

Even after 5 years of marriage and 3 years of dating before that, Brooke found everything about Vanessa still as cute as the day they met. 

"Ness, you always look pretty."

Vanessa's cheeks turned red at the compliment and she smiled at her wife. Brooke leaned across the console and kissed her, a kiss that lasted for a few seconds or a few minutes, Vanessa didn't know. Only stopping when Vanessa pulled away and said, "alright, blondie, let's go."

Brooke rolled her eyes affectionately and pulled out of the driveway. The roads were starting to get very slippery, but Brooke was a cautious driver, so she knew she could get them there okay. They got about 10 minutes down the road when Brooke's phone rang, and it's her mom.

"Hey mom," she answers, "we are on our way."

"Oh Brooke, I was hoping you hadn't left yet. We've decided to cancel, the roads are much worse on this end of town."

Brooke suppresses a groan, takes a deep breath, and says "okay, well, thanks for letting us know I guess."

"I'm sorry dear, we will reschedule, I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."

"Alright, mom, I love you too."

Brooke hung up the phone and pulled into the nearest driveway. 

"I knew we shoulda just stayed home." Vanessa grumbled. 

"Oh, don't be grumpy miss thing. We will be back home and you'll be back in your pjs soon." Brooke laughed as she backed out onto the road.

It had definitely started snowing harder since they started their trek to Brooke's parents house, so she had to be extra cautious heading home. 

They got about five minutes down the road when it happened. It happened so fast. A car coming up to a four-way intersection unable to stop, honking and flashing their lights. Brooke tried to stop as well and ended up locking up the breaks and sliding. The two cars collide, with the other car t-boning them on Vanessa's side. Brooke hit her head on the window, but ultimately she was scratch free. She looked over at Vanessa and let out a scream of panic when she saw that she was unconscious with a cut above her right eyebrow where she hit her head on…  _ something.  _

"Oh my God! Are you guys ok?!" The driver of the other car had gotten out and come around to Brooke's side, she rolled down the window. 

"Um, I uh I don't know." Panic took over and she couldn't form words, "Nessa, Nessa baby, wake up." Brooke said, turning her attention to her wife.

Vanessa didn't open her eyes, but Brooke saw her breathing, and let out a sigh of relief. 

"Call 9-1-1," Brooke said to the other driver, she was feeling woozy, she knew what it meant, "call 9-1-1, tell them there are two unconscious victims here because I think- I think I'm about to pass out," and the driver of the other cars panicked face was the last thing Brooke saw before it all went black. 

~*~

Brooke woke up in a white room with bright lights. There was people rushing around and beeping that was  _ unnecessarily  _ loud. There was an oxygen mask on her face and an iv in her hand. She looked around at the people but couldn't get enough strength to get words out, and  _ damnit  _ her head  _ hurt!  _

"We got eyes." One of the nurses called out, and 3 people rushed to Brooke's bedside.

"Brooke Lynn, can you hear me?" A woman to her right asked her, way too loudly.

Brooke nodded. 

"Brooke Lynn, do you remember what happened?" This voice came from her left. 

Brooke thought for a minute. What  _ did  _ happen? 

Images of the crash played in her mind, and she nodded.

"Okay, well, you're doing fine, Brooke Lynn. We've got you on fluids and meds for the pain, and your stats were dropping so we put you on oxygen."

Brooke nodded again and the nurses started to walk away. More images played in Brooke's mind, the lights, the crash itself,  _ Vanessa.  _

"Vanessa?!" Brooke said, it was muffled by the mask but the nurses heard it, "what about my wife?!"

The nurses looked at each other with weird expressions and Brooke's mind went to the worst scenario: she didn't make it. Panic rises in her chest. 

"She's down the hall." The nurse says quickly.

Brooke tries to sit up, tries to pull the mask off and the wires away from her body, but hands are making her lay back down, "you can see her soon, but she's in rough shape right now. They're still with her."

Brooke nods slowly. She lays back reluctantly and tears pool in her eyes. She prays that her wife is okay.

It's a few hours later before Brooke is released from care. She's thankful that nothing is wrong with her, but scared for Vanessa. She still hasn't been given that much information. She signs the discharge papers and follows the nurse to Vanessa's room. She's been admitted to the ICU and she isn't awake yet, but that's all Brooke knows. 

She gets there and they tell her Vanessa is stable, but they're concerned. They say that she should wake up, but they don't know when. 

That's the scariest for Brooke, not knowing. 

She doesn't leave Vanessa's side, though. She remains unconscious for three days but Brooke only leaves to shower. 

Halfway through the fourth night, Vanessa opens her eyes. Brooke, who's deemed it impossible to sleep, notices right away and jumps up to notify the staff. 

The staff rushes into the room, talking loudly and quickly and Brooke stands by the door watching. 

"Welcome back, Vanessa." The nurse at the side of the bed says sweetly, and Vanessa responds with a weird look. 

This causes the nurse to look at the tech with a concerned expression that Brooke doesn't understand.

"Vanessa, do you remember what happened?"

Vanessa doesn't answer, she just looks frantically around the room. Brooke is at her side in a second, reaching for her hand and brushing her hair out of her face. 

"It's okay, baby, it's okay. You're okay now, Vanessa."

"Who is Vanessa?" She asks confused, "and who are you?!"

Brooke's blood runs cold and she stares into Vanessa's panicked eyes, "Ness, it's me! Brooke Lynn, y-your wife!"

It doesn't seem to click and Brooke looks to the nurses for help.

"Vanessa, you were in an accident with your wife." One says. 

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know who any of you are."

It felt like a knife was plunged into Brooke's chest. Her wife, the absolute love of her life, didn't know her own name, and didn't even know Brooke.

"Nessa, please, it's me, Brooke!" Tears threatened to fall as Brooke pleaded for Vanessa to remember her.

She hoped Vanessa would start laughing and say  _ "gotcha!" _

Vanessa just shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't know you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanessa comes home from the hospital and Brooke struggles with helping her remember.

Vanessa was released from the hospital a week and a half later. Her memory was coming back but she still could only remember up until her high school years.

She hadn't made any progress for a few days and Brooke was losing hope. The doctors said that it could come back, but they didn’t even know for sure.

The drive to their home was tense. Vanessa didn't say much, just looked at the houses as they drove by. 

Brooke pulled into a driveway on the right and Vanessa was awed by the simple, yet beautiful house. 

"This is us." Brooke says, putting the car in park. 

"We live here? It's so cute."

Brooke gave a small smile. She had decorated a little for Christmas. Just some white Christmas lights out front. 

Brooke helped Vanessa out of the car, and into the house. Riley was so excited to see her that he immediately ran to her, jumping and wagging his tail. Vanessa hid behind Brooke, as she did not remember if she even liked dogs, let alone owning one. 

“That’s Riley,” Brooke explains, “we got him when we moved in here. He’s your baby. He missed you very much, he constantly looked for you every time I came home without you to shower.” 

Vanessa just nods. 

“Come here, Riley, let’s get you outside buddy.” Brooke calls, walking Riley to the back door. 

She lets him out to the fenced in backyard and closes the sliding door. 

“So it’s not much, but we’ve made it our home. The living room, of course, and the kitchen and dining room.” Brooke walks down the hall and Vanessa follows, “the bathrooms here on the left, and the guest room is on the right, and our room is back here. You keep your clothes on this side of the closet,” she pointed to the messier side with a small smile, like it was an inside joke, “and this is your side of the bed,” she pointed to the right side of the bed.” 

Vanessa looked hesitant, overwhelmed, “I’ll sleep in here, with you?”

Something flashed in her eyes. Fear? Brooke wasn’t sure, but it made her sad. 

“I mean, you don’t have to if you aren’t comfortable. I can sleep in the guest room if you like.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

Brooke’s heart broke a little, but she was willing to do anything to help her wife through this, “not at all Ne- Vanessa.”

Vanessa gave her a small smile, “I think I’d like to take a nap, is that okay?”

Brooke nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind her. She heads back to the main rooms of the house to feed the cats and let Riley back in and then she starts to clean up. For not being home for almost two weeks, things really started to get kinda messy around there, she didn’t really understand why. Plus, she needed help keeping her mind busy.

Vanessa had been napping for about an hour and a half when Brooke’s phone rang. It was her mom. 

“Hey mom,” Brooke answers the phone, sitting down on the couch for the first time since she’s been home, Henry and Apollo curling up next to her.

“Hi honey, how’s it feel to be home? How’s Vanessa doing?”

“Feels good to be home, but Vanessa’s about the same.” Brooke tried not to sound like her world was crashing around her but it was hard.

She had been in a terrible accident, she could have died, and the love of her life doesn’t remember who she is.

“Are you doing okay?” 

“That’s a loaded question, mom.” Brooke let out a frustrated chuckle, “I don’t know. I’m terrified that Ness will never remember who I am.” Brooke’s voice cracked at the end of her sentence.

“Oh, honey, I know. Don’t give up hope, the mind is a complex thing. Her memories are there, locked away. Just be patient.” 

“I just want my wife back, mom. She doesn’t even want to sleep in the same bed with me.” Brooke finally broke a little, letting a sob escape, letting a few tears fall, “and I don’t blame her one bit, to her, I’m a stranger.”

Brooke’s mom stayed silent on the other end for a moment, lost for words.

“Mom, what if she doesn’t remember, what if she doesn’t fall back in love with me? What if I lose her forever?” Brooke finally felt like she could breathe, finding words for her fears.

“Sweetie, I wish I could say that won’t happen but there’s no way to know. Just know that  _ your  _ Vanessa is in there and hope that she comes back to you soon.”

“We were going to have a baby, you know.” Brooke says softly, “we were going to tell you that night. We wanted to start the process after Christmas. We had made up our minds, we were ready.” 

She chokes back a sob, her mom sniffles on the other end. 

“I love you Brooke, everything will work out, even if it’s not in the way you expect. Just be patient.” 

“I love you too, mom.”

Brooke hung up the phone, grabbed the nearest pillow, and cried her unshed tears into it. 

A few feet behind her in the hallway stood Vanessa. There was a nagging feeling in her stomach. She wanted to remember so bad. She could see the love in Brooke’s eyes when she looked at her, she wanted to reciprocate that.

She turned and headed back down the hall. There were pictures hanging on each side. Pictures from the proposal: Brooke on one knee and Vanessa crying, Brooke kissing Vanessa’s cheek and Vanessa holding up her left hand showing the ring, and a picture of them hugging tightly foreheads pressed together. Pictures from the engagement session: Brooke held Vanessa cradled in her arms while they kissed, with the gorgeous ring fully on display, fall leaves were everywhere, Brooke throwing leaves at Vanessa who was laughing, and a cute picture of Brooke, Vanessa, Riley and both cats sitting on the front porch of the house. Pictures of the wedding, and Vanessa almost cried looking at how beautiful both her and Brooke looked. All of these pictures, all of these special moments that she lived, and she doesn’t remember a thing. 

Vanessa lets out a frustrated sigh and heads back to the bedroom.

Vanessa was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Hey ba- Vanessa,” Brooke called, she was trying to stay away from pet names in order to help Vanessa feel more comfortable and it was proving to be difficult, but she was doing her best, “I’m running to the store, do you need anything? Do you want to come with me? Will you be ok by yourself?” 

Vanessa thinks a second before answering, “I think I’ll stay, I might shower. Thank you though. I don’t think I need anything either. If you could show me where the towels and everythings at though, I’d appreciate it?” Vanessa bit the inside of her lip and furrowed her brow and she looked so cute that Brooke wanted to just kiss her, but she didn’t. 

Instead she helped the smaller girl find her towels. 

“Alright, well this is my number,” she showed her the contact in Vanessa’s phone, “call me if you need something okay?” 

Vanessa nods and Brooke leaves her to shower. The water is relaxing to Vanessa. She doesn’t realize how tense her muscles are until she’s under a stream of hot water.

Brooke wonders through the store, picking up random things for her cart. She doesn’t even know what she’s really looking for. What did  _ this  _ Vanessa even eat? She didn’t know. She didn’t meet Vanessa until they were in college. She knew that  _ her  _ Vanessa liked rice and shrimp, so she stocked up on that. 

She was heading to the check-out when something caught her eye. A beautiful half bouquet of pink roses- they looked like the ones Brooke and Vanessa had at their wedding.. Brooke debated with herself. Was it overstepping? Would it make her mad? Uncomfortable? She didn’t want to upset her. What if it made things worse? What if  _ this  _ Vanessa hated flowers? Brooke decided to bite the bullet and do it. She added the small bouquet to her cart and continued to checkout.

Once back at home, Brooke started carrying things inside, she was met with the familiar sound of Vanessa’s laughter. She walked to the living room to find Vanessa in one of Brooke’s old college shirts and a pair of shorts- both entirely too big on her, sitting on the floor with Henry on her lap and Apollo trying to climb up onto her shoulders.

“Hi Brooke,” Vanessa smiled, “I think they like me!”

“They love you actually.” Brooke said softly.

“I’m afraid I don’t remember their names though.” Vanessa frowned and Brooke wanted to kiss it away.

“The fluffy one is Henry and the grey one is Apollo.” 

Vanessa nodded, “did you get everything you needed at the store?”

“Yeah, I forgot to ask you though, what you wanted to eat?”

“Oh, um, I’m not really hungry for anything in particular. What do I normally eat?”

“Depends on your mood but you like shrimp, so I got some of that, and some rice.”

Vanessa nods, “okay, that sounds good.” 

Vanessa gets up and follows Brooke to the kitchen.

“Oh my, these flowers are beautiful!” Vanessa squeals.

Brooke’s heart soars, “they’re for you.” 

“You didn’t have to get me flowers,” Vanessa blushes, “thank you though.” 

“I saw them and I couldn’t pass it up. They’re the same flowers we had at our-”

“At our wedding, yeah I saw the pictures. We looked so beautiful.” A few tears cloud Vanessa’s eyes, “I’m really trying to remember, Brooke, I am. I want to. I’m doing everything I can.” Vanessa hides her face with her hands and begins to sob. Brooke’s heart breaks a little more and she pulls the smaller girl in for a hug. 

“I know you are. It’s going to take time.” Brooke soothed, rubbing Vanessa’s back, “also, did you know you’re wearing my clothes?”

Vanessa stepped back a little and looked down, “am I?”

Brooke nods, “yeah, why do you think they’re so big on you?” 

“I don’t know, I thought maybe I just lost weight or something.”

Brooke laughs, “no, they’re mine.”

“Well, can I keep them? They’re comfy...and they smell like you and I like it.”

Vanessa leans back into the hug and Brooke’s heart swells with affection, “yeah, you can keep them.”


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

It’s officially been a month since the accident, and Vanessa hasn’t remembered much more. Brooke is still sleeping in the guest room and she misses her bed. More importantly, she misses her wife. Vanessa is frustrated, she’s had to learn everything over again. A brand new daily routine, learning how to live with someone who was a complete stranger. This was so new to her. She felt a lot of pressure to remember. She knew Brooke was getting frustrated too, even though she was trying not to show it. 

Vanessa wakes up in the middle of the night, something jolts her awake. She looks at the clock, and it reads 3:12am. She groans and rolls out of bed to go to the kitchen to get a drink of water. The door to the guest room is cracked and there’s a light on. Curiosity gets the best of Vanessa and she tip-toes down the hall. She hears Brooke sniffling, and she hears her whispering, her voice thick with tears. 

“Nina, what if she never remembers? …….. I can’t lose her, Nina. …… I know but- ……. I know ……” Brooke lets out a quiet sob, “I don’t want her to be unhappy, but I want her to remember. …….. No she hasn’t made any progress. She doesn’t remember anything about our eight years together. …….. It’s breaking my heart Nina.”

Vanessa couldn’t listen anymore. She decides to forego the water and just goes back to the bedroom. She feels about two feet tall. She’s  _ hurting  _ Brooke. She knows she can’t help it. She wants to remember. She wants to love Brooke. She thinks Brooke is amazing. She’s sweet, and kind. She’s beautiful, and funny. She wants to be the wife that Brooke deserves. She doesn’t want to break Brooke’s heart. Tears well up in her own eyes, white hot tears of frustration. She throws herself down on the bed and cries into the pillow until she has fully cried herself to sleep.

“Vanessa?” Brooke calls softly into the room, “Vanessa, it’s 9am, I didn’t know if you wanted to get up or if you wanted to sleep longer, but I made pancakes.”

Vanessa’s eyes fluttered open. She groans and squints in the sunlight shining in through the curtains. 

“Good morning,” Brooke laughs.

“Pancakes you say?” Vanessa raises an eyebrow.

“And bacon.” 

“Okay.”

Vanessa licks the syrup off her fingers while Brooke sops up the last bit off her place with a bite of pancake.

“So, I was wondering-” Brooke said at the same time Vanessa said, “I need to talk-”

“You go ahead,” Vanessa says, gesturing to Brooke.

“No, you go.”

Vanessa takes a deep breath, “I think that I might go stay with my mom for a little bit. I think I need to give you a little space, and maybe I need a little space. This whole thing has been very difficult for us and I’m afraid we will both lose our shit if something doesn’t change soon.”

Brooke felt like the wind was knocked out of her. Vanessa wants to leave. 

“It’s not forever, Brooke, I think we both just need some time.”

Brooke nods because  _ what else can she do?  _

“What were you going to say?” Vanessa asked.

Brooke hesitates, because she doesn’t want to make things weird now, but Vanessa encourages her with her soft doe eyes.

“I was wondering if I could take you out. Like a date, or maybe not a date, but just out.”

“I think that’s a good idea. I’m going to leave for my mom’s tomorrow, so let’s go to dinner tonight.” Vanessa gives a reassuring smile. 

Brooke knows she’s trying to help her feel better, but she has a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She’s never been alone in this house before.

“There’s a red chiffon wrap dress in your closet,” Brooke says, “you should wear it, it’s one of your favorites.” 

Vanessa nods, she knows which one, she saw it when she was looking through her clothes.

“Let’s be ready around six then?” Brooke suggests.

“Sounds good, I’m going to start getting my things together to stay at my mom’s though.”

Brooke nods, she has some work to do from home so she heads to the guest room while Vanessa heads to the bedroom. 

Around 5pm they both start getting ready and they meet in the living room. Vanessa was about knocked off her feet when she saw Brooke in an emerald green satin dress that looked so good with her milky skin, her blond hair curled nicely down her back. Brooke felt her mouth go dry at the sight of Vanessa in the red dress, her makeup done perfectly and her hair pinned back away from her face. 

“You look really pretty,” Vanessa says smiling.

“So do you.” Brooke smiles back.

Brooke leads Vanessa to the car and drives them to their favorite restaurant. The one they went to for their first date, the one they got engaged at, and the one they’ve spent their anniversaries at ever since. The staff knows them, and they know what happened, so they’re mindful of Vanessa. 

“We must come here a lot?” Vanessa asks, and Brooke nods, “what do I normally get?”   
“The shrimp and lobster pasta.” 

Vanessa nods and orders that. Brooke orders her usual and gets a bottle of wine for them to share. 

“I’m sorry, Brooke.” Vanessa says, there’s sadness in her eyes.

“For what?”

“If me going back to my mom’s for a little bit is hurting you, I don’t want to do that. I just think it’ll be best for us.”

Brooke Lynn didn’t particularly want to talk about this right now, she just nods.

“I’m doing everything I can, but it still feels like it’s not enough.” Vanessa whispers, “there’s a lot of pressure to try to remember things.”

“I don’t mean to put pressure on you, Vanessa.”

“I know.” 

“I’m just frustrated.”

“So am I, Brooke. I’m the one living in a house that’s foreign to me. I’m the one living with someone who is a stranger to me. I am the one who walks past pictures of myself at my own wedding and can’t remember a single thing about it. I’m frustrated too. I want to remember. I just can’t make it happen.”

“Hey, hey I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. That wasn’t my intention. Let’s not talk about this right now. I think our dinner is coming.” Brooke nods towards the waiter, “plus, your makeup looks too nice, I would hate to make you cry.”

Vanessa feels herself blush at the compliment and she says a soft  _ thank you _ under her breath, but Brooke hears it.

The waiter sets their food down and they eat in a comfortable silence. For dessert, they share a piece of strawberry cheesecake, which is one of Vanessa’s favorites. It’s so sweet that they can’t finish it all, and they get the bill, pay, and head home. 

Vanessa is exhausted by the time they get home so she heads straight for the bathroom to remove her makeup. 

“I don’t think I’m going to be up much longer, Brookie, I’m exhausted.”

Brooke’s ears perk up at the nickname she hasn’t heard in weeks.

“Did you just call me Brookie?” she asks, “You used to call me that all the time, but you haven’t said it since the accident. Where did that come from?”

Vanessa looks confused for a minute, “I-I’m not sure. It just fell on my tongue.”

Brooke smiles, and clings to a tiny bit of hope.

“Alright, well I’ll see you in the morning then.” 

Vanessa nods and heads to the bedroom. Brooke stays up a little longer and cleans up the dog toys and feeds the cats before shutting the lights off and heading to bed. 

_ Flashing lights, screeching tires, fuck I think I hit my head, what the hell is happening? Why won’t anyone let me sit up? Brooke. Where’s Brooke? What’s going on? Where am I? No, I don’t want to lay back down, I want my wife. I can’t talk, why can’t I talk? Ow, my head. It’s so bright in here, why’s it so bright? What’s going on? Shit, what happened? No, no it’s going black, everything’s going black, I think I’m going to pass out, shit I- _

Vanessa sat up, she was covered in a cold sweat. It was dark, and she’s in her bedroom at home. She’s safe at home and not in a bright room. She’s safe in bed, she was sleeping, and not passing out. Her head doesn’t hurt, there was no accident. It was a nightmare and Brooke is right next to her.

She glances at the spot in bed next to her, except it’s empty.

“Brooke?” she calls.

She’s confused, she glances at the clock, 11:52pm. Maybe Brooke hasn’t come to bed yet. She gets up and wraps her robe around her and heads out into the hall, panic rising as she bumps into boxes and suitcases stacked outside the door. The light is on in the guest room, and she thinks that’s weird, so she heads that way.

“Brooke?” She calls.

“I’m in here,” says her wife’s voice from the guest room, “are you ok?”

Brooke was laying in bed in the guest room, and from the looks of it, she had been sleeping here, her phone charger was here, her lotion she used on her legs at night was here, her alarm clock was here. Vanessa was confused.

“Brooke what are you doing in here?”   
“What do you mean? I’m about to go to bed?”

“Why are you in here though? Why aren’t you in our bed? Did we have a fight? Brooke I’m so confused, the last thing I remember, we were heading to your parents, and now I’m waking up in bed alone and there's suitcases and boxes in the hallway!” Vanessa’s voice was becoming frantic, and Brooke was trying to piece everything together. 

"Wait a minute," Brooke held her hands up, "what's happening?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Vanessa's eyes filled with tears, "there's suitcases in the hallway, and you're sleeping in here, Brooke are you leaving me?"

"Vanessa, you don't remember the accident?"

"Accident? What accident?"

Brooke sat up and gestured for Vanessa to sit on the bed next to her.

"Ness, we were in an accident coming home from my parent's house."

"What? That's not possible. That was just tonight, wasn't it?"

"N-no, baby, that was a month ago. We were in an accident and you hit your head, you were unconscious for a few days and when you woke up, you didn't know who you were, who I was, or anything. By the time you were released from the hospital, you had remembered up until your high school years but you still didn't remember me." Brooke's voice cracked on  _ me,  _ she paused for a minute to let it sink in, "I've been sleeping in here so I didn't overwhelm you, the suitcases are in the hallway because you were going to go stay with your mom for a little bit."

Vanessa was freely crying now, this didn't make sense, "a month?"

Brooke nods and reaches a tentative hand out to Vanessa who leans into it and allows Brooke to hold her, to  _ really  _ hold her. 

"I'm sorry, Brookie, I'm so, so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Nessa. It was nobody's fault. I'm just happy you're safe."

Vanessa buried her head in Brooke's neck while Brooke ran her fingers through the smaller girl's hair. 

"I love you, I don't know how I could ever forget that I love you, Brooke."

Brooke's emotions bubble up and the tears spill over, "it feels so good to hear you say that, baby, I love you too, so, so much!"

"Brooke, please come back to bed. I'm sure you miss our bed."

Brooke nods and her and Vanessa stand up. She grabs her things and shuts the lights off. Vanessa never lets go of her hand as they venture down the hall to their own room. Climbing into her own bed for the first time in weeks feels like heaven. Vanessa scoots over and cuddles into Brooke's side and Brooke holds her tight. They fall asleep with Brooke whispering promises of keeping Vanessa safe quietly into her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is always welcome, your comments make me happy! Come clown with me on tumblr @/vanjiestoes !


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